Rumburg's no-hitter first at Belmont Abbey since 2006

BELMONT – Aaron Rumburg admits he’s not a superstitious person, even as a baseball pitcher.

However, Rumburg said when his Belmont Abbey College coaches followed baseball protocol by not talking to him about his ongoing no-hitter last Saturday, it succeeded in creating anxiety.

“After each inning, the coaches would go to one end of the dugout and away me and the other players,” said Rumburg, a freshman right-hander from Forestview High. “By the ninth inning, it was the quietest I’ve ever been around at a ballpark.”

In spite of the tension in the air, Rumburg finished up the no-hitter that was a perfect game until he hit a batter with two outs in the ninth inning of last Saturday’s 8-0 Crusaders’ victory at North Greenville College in Tigerville, S.C.

It was Belmont Abbey’s first no-hitter since former East Gaston standout Michael Raymond threw two no-hitters in the 2006 season.

“He just had it rolling,” said first-year Abbey head coach Chris Anderson, who was the pitching coach for Raymond’s no-hitters. “It just never felt like he was losing his stuff. If anything, he was getting better and better as the game wore on.”

Rumburg struck out seven in his nine-inning gem and said credit should be spread among his coaches and his teammates.

“Everybody made plays,” Rumburg said. Pitching “Coach (Erik) Foor really helped in the bullpen before the game, catcher Anthony Dimino called a great game and everybody was in on it. I only had seven strikeouts, so they had 20 ground balls or fly balls.”

Anderson singled out one particular player for North Greenville that twice nearly broke up the perfect game and no-hit bid. First baseman Josh Sealey hit a liner into the outfield in the fifth inning that appeared destined for a hit until a diving catch by centerfielder Conor Kwalwasser. And, in the eighth, Sealey had a bunt roll just foul.

“After that play that Kwal made in the fifth, I looked at the scoreboard and realized what was happening,” Rumburg said. “From that inning on, I felt nervous on every pitch.”

Anderson said he worried about his freshman right-hander only once – after Rumburg hit North Greenville shortstop Colton Grant with two outs in the ninth inning that ended the perfect game.

“That was my only mound visit and I just wanted to make sure he knew he still needed to get one more out,” Anderson said of Rumburg, who threw 67 of the 97 pitches he threw for strikes.

Levi Wright had two hits and five RBIs, including a three-run home run in the third inning, to provide all the offensive support Rumburg would need.

Rumburg said that while he had three similar efforts in high school, the importance of Saturday’s effort made it his career best.

Page 2 of 2 - “To go out and throw like that with what we had on the line was unreal,” said Rumburg, the MVP of last year’s Gaston County Easter Baseball tournament after pitching Forestview to a 4-2 win over South Point in the championship game.

The victory, which completed a three-game sweep by Belmont Abbey in which every game was a complete-game pitching win, moved the Crusaders (16-23, 7-11) into sixth-place of the eight-team Conference Carolinas. The Crusaders meet No. 19-ranked Mount Olive (28-11, 13-2) for a series that begins Friday and concludes with a Saturday doubleheader.

Just as Rumburg did in last week’s series, he’s expected to start the third game of the series.

Can he pitch another no-hitter?

“If I just give us a chance to win against a team like Mount Olive, I’ll be happy with that,” Rumburg said.

You can reach Richard Walker at 704-869-1841 or by twitter.com/JRWalk22